This invention relates generally to the field of disposing of odoriferous waste, and more specifically to waste disposal system with flexible tubing.
Certain types of wastes generate offensive odors that may be difficult to control in a closed environment, such as a home, a hospital, a restaurant or an office. Examples of these wastes include soiled absorbent articles like diapers, adult incontinence products or sanitary napkins; animal droppings; putrefying foods; and combustion products.
A number of containers for the disposal of odoriferous materials are known in the prior art. These containers generally comprise a waste chamber that can be accessed by removing a lid; a bag within the chamber for holding the odoriferous material; and a constrictor system for maintaining the bag closed, in order to prevent the emission of odors.
More recently, a flexible tubing system has been developed that facilitates the use of containers for odoriferous materials. This flexible tubing system essentially comprises a ring-shaped cartridge, within which a continuous flexible tube is stored. The cartridge is positioned in an appropriate lodging at the mouth of the container and the tube is then extended into the waste chamber. After each load of waste is thrown into the flexible tubing, the portion of the flexible tubing holding the waste is closed by twisting or by other means, encapsulating the held waste. A new load of waste can then be thrown into the flexible tubing repeating the process.
The containers in the prior art have been disclosed in a number of patents but exhibit a number of deficiencies. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,303 to Bernstein et al. discloses a diaper pail having a lid, a trash bag and a rotating ring-shaped flange at the mouth of the bag that causes the mouth of the bag to twist. This container is not suitable for use with flexible tubing and operation of this container, including the rotation of the flange, is entirely manual.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,680 to Asbach et al. discloses a container suited for use with a trash bag, the mouth of which is closed by a constrictor system that includes two rotating disks connected by straps. The mouth of the bag is closed by the intersection of the straps when the disks are rotated relative to each other by 180 degrees or more. This container, however, is not suited for use with flexible tubing, does not prevent emission of odors when the constrictor is opened to insert new waste, and the operation of the constrictor system is entirely manual.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,200 to Jacoby, Hickman and Gallo discloses a disposal system for use with flexible tubing, wherein rotation of a ring-shaped flange at the mouth of the container causes the flexible tubing to twist and to encapsulate the held waste. This container is entirely hand-operated and laborious to use. For instance, in the case of a diaper pail, a mother must rotate the flange by hand and then push the twisted tubing inside the waste chamber while holding a baby. This is not only inconvenient, but also potentially dangerous because the various steps required to operate this container must be balanced with the care of the baby.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,370,847 to Jensen et al. discloses a diaper disposal container with flexible tubing and with a rotating inner lid. This invention also requires that waste be pushed into the container by hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,612,099 to Stravitz discloses a waste disposal device using flexible tubing, wherein the flexible tubing is twisted by means of a rotating ring-shaped flange that is turned when the hinged lid is closed. This device is of complex construction and also requires that the twisted section of the flexible tubing be pushed into the container by hand.